17
Sep 2011

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Beyond the sadness – Taylor Anderson’s family visits Ishinomaki

Taylor Anderson was an assistant English teacher from the United States who lost her life in the tsunami. Taylor was teaching English at 7 schools in Ishinomaki city, a place she was known to love. Four members of her family came to Ishinomaki on September 8.

Peace Boat was contacted by Taylor’s family because they wanted to volunteer. As a result, the Anderson family participated in Peace Boat’s clean-up activities in the Shintate region.

We interviewed Taylor’s father Andy about his visit to Japan and his motivation for joining the volunteer activities.

16
Sep 2011

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Hayamahime Temple Festival, Oginohama

On September 9 approximately 30 volunteers participated in the Festival at Hayamahime Temple Festival Temple, which is located in the Oginohama area of the Oshika Peninsula. Volunteers participated in the festival because they have been assisting with debris removal and work in the fishing industry in the Ogihama area for a long time, as well as helping with cleaning activities around the temple in the lead-up to the festival.
This was a wonderful day which no doubt gave both the local residents and volunteers lots of energy and inspiration to continue on with from here.

14
Sep 2011

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Follow-up Report: Visitors to “Kizuna no yu” and “Fudou no yu” exceed 3500!

Over the past two weeks the number of visitors to the public baths, “Kizuna no yu” and “Fudou no yu” that were opened to the public on August 22 exceeded 3500 people!
In conjunction with the conclusion of the bathing facilities that had been provided by the Japanese Self Defense Forces, and upon consultation with local city hall officials, public baths were constructed by the Ishinomaki Disaster Recovery Assistance Council Inc, with Peace Boat in charge of the operation of the baths including changing the water, cleaning and reception duties. Many people use the baths everyday, most of whom are living in evacuation centers or in the surrounding areas where infrastructure has not yet been restored.

12
Sep 2011

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Gathering Ogatsu Stones

Slate stones are a traditional industry of Ogatsu town, near Ishinomaki. Volunteers have been working to collect these resilient stones, many of which were washed away in the tsunami, to enable them to be reused for various things such as roof tiles, accessories and ink stones.

11
Sep 2011

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Ishinomaki Before and After (April 10 – August 30)

The main activity of volunteers in Ishinomaki, the city severely damaged by the tsunami, was clearing mud and cleaning the area.
To date, Peace Boat has completed the cleaning of over 1,200 locations in Ishinomaki, including homes, shops, schools and other public institutions, drains, cemeteries and so on.

This post features photographs showing the differences in scenes of April 10 (one month after the tsunami) and August 30, thanks to the cleanup work of volunteers participating in efforts including the Machinaka Smile project.

11
Sep 2011

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Half a year on

A moment of silence – marking six months since the disaster struck.
At 2:46pm on September 11, six months since the Great East Japan Earthquake and Tsunami, all volunteers and staff together held a moment of silence to pray for the souls of those who lost their lives.
The members’ dedication to both remembrance and recovery became even stronger as they gazed upon the now calm ocean.
We will continue to work together with the people of Ishinomaki one step at a time.

09
Sep 2011

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Fisherman in Funakoshi

Peace Boat first got to know Mr Nakazato on July 2 at the Ogatsu Recovery Market. He is a fisherman in Funakoshi, a small village with a population of 320 before the disaster. In the tsunami most homes and storehouses were washed away, but miraculously Mr Nakazato’s property survived. That’s why he puts himself last and is working tirelessly to help his fellow fishermen.

07
Sep 2011

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Volunteers cleaning graves in preparation for the equinox

Recently volunteers have become busy with cleaning graves, as local residents have requested help to have the graves cleaned by the time of the equinox. Mainly short-term volunteers have been involved with this and everyday many volunteers are spending time cleaning graves and the surrounding area. Today’s report is about such grave cleaning activities at Saikou Temple in Kadonowaki-cho.

06
Sep 2011

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Meal preparation

A barbecue is on the menu for today, as a new style of meal preparation. Up until now, ready-made meals were handed out to residents. This new style is where volunteers take the ingredients and equipment necessary to cook on the spot, together with residents. As the needs in the area are changing, the idea emerged that residents could regain some independence by creating an environment where they can cook what they want to eat themselves.

02
Sep 2011

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Onwards Dani-busters! The evacuation center cleaning team

The “Dani-buster” team been working since June, and is in charge of cleaning of bedding, drying and delivery of futons, pest control in evacuation centres and particularly removing bed bugs in the more than 60 evacuation centers in Ishinomaki area according to the needs of each particular centre.